Don't let me down: 9 months after the disaster

Yasuo YOSHIKAWA

9th Kyoto Caravan: SWTJ in Tohoku in December

The 9th Kyoto CAravan is on the way!

9th Kyoto Caravan SWTJ members (from left to right): Uechi-san, Yoshikawa Yasuo, Watanabe Eiji, Ueda Yuko, Kato Wako

The 9th Kyoto Caravan SWTJ team left on December 10 and is touring several temporary housing sites where community events are organized in the spirit of the upcoming holidays.

On December 11: a soba buckwheat noodle event at noon followed by a community event in the evening in cooperation with the SWTJ Kesennuma Branch at the Tsukidate temporary housing site in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.

On December 12: Community event in collaboration with the SWTJ Rikuzen Takata Branch: Making Korean specialties with members of temporary housing in Rikuzen Takata, Iwate Prefecture. Kimchi Korean-type pickles will  last for the winter for the resident evacuees, and a warm meal of sangetan steamed chicken is shared by all.

On December 13: Making holiday-crafts  event for children at several temporary housing sites in collaboration with Kesenuma City Child Center.

SWTJ would like to thank the many donors who supported these events with funds, or who sent us donations in kind including holiday cards, sembei and treats for the children, and ingredients for making the kimchi pickles and the sangetan chicken!

Shuto Naoya@SWTJ

(Translated and edited for the English version by B.Y.)

SWTJ team takes part in community relay event in the disaster zone

 SWTJ at the 31st Tsukidate Relay Event

On November 6, SWTJ joined the residents in the Tsukidate district of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture at their traditional autumn relay event, the 31st in history! Conducting the event in spite of the earthquake and tsunami a half-year earlier shows the community's strong will to go forward and to recreate and strengthen community bonds.

Mr.Yoshida of the SWTJ Kesennuma Branch at the opening

Teachers from Tsukidate elementary school led the warm-up session

Many local people lined the streets and cheered the runners on while holding flags

A bit nervous: SWTJ member starting off!

(The SWTJ runner of the first relay section finished a disappointing 7th. Why should I hide it? That was me, Kanazawa Ryo, the writer of this blog!)

Fortunately, others in our team caught up, and we managed to finish 4th.

A Tsukidate junior team won the first prize! Local boy of the winning team holding the wooden SWTJ trophy.

A bottle of Kamotsuru sake from Kamotsuru sake brewery, a SWTJ sponsor in Hiroshima, went to the team that won the participation prize.

Big thanks go to the six local ladies who joined our four runners in the SWTJ team for the event!

Running toward the same goal with the Tsukidate people while passing on the baton to each other helped us create new bonds with the people in the disaster area. Big thanks for letting us take part!

Kanazawa Ryo



Don't let me down! Waiting for spring-- 9 months after the disaster

September 11, six months after the disaster. Every month, the 11th keeps 


returning. October, November, December. Many of those of us who have continued 


working in the disaster area since spring have kept asking the question that the locals 


also face every day: 'What should be  done next?'

Difficult choices must be made.

Disaster victims are faced with difficult choices on a daily basis. Should this boat that was swept inland be preserved on-site as a reminder of the tsunami, or should it be done away with? Opinions are divided. 

In spring, the choices seemed easy. We started off from zero without funds, information, or connections, and went ahead following our intuition and imagination on what was needed, and brought food and relief goods to the victims. People were hungry, needed blankets and lights, needed a warm meal, someone to listen to them. While responding to these early needs, we were also determined to support the disaster victims over the long term, and adapted our activities to new needs on a monthly basis. Looking back over the last nine months, we must ask whether our choices were the right choices, and whether we were doing enough to understand the real feelings of the victims. 

In Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, 8 months after the disaster, time stands still.

On April 9, SWTJ was asked  by the Kesennuma Volunteer Center to set up a soup kitchen for 150 people.  While preparing the task, we had a chance to help sorting relief goods in a storage of the center. That was one month after the disaster, and there was plenty of water, rice, vegetables, and canned food. 

That was when I started to become sensitive to the question 'What is really needed?'

Today, more than 9 months after the disaster, SWTJ is preparing to send a team to the disaster area for the 9th time. Thanks to the help and funds of many supporters, and thanks to fellow SWTJ members who are giving their very best in skills, time, and connections, we have continued. But what is most important is how our work is received in the disaster area. Yes, I did personally cut my hair in a mohawk hairstyle before going, to make sure that each first encounter would be a reason for a smile. 
But really: we must continue asking 'What is needed now?' and never forget to think of the feelings of the evacuees regarding our actions.

My mohawk hairstyle never fails to make people smile

6 months after the disaster, significant changes occurred. People were moving away from evacuation centers into temporary housing. With privacy and shelter, physical needs seemed to be taken care of. But in reality, this was the time when the difference between the haves and the have-nots started to greatly affect people's lives. While this new challenge was apparent, I also remember being told at one of the temporary housing sites in Rikuzen Takata: 'Don't worry about bringing stuff. Why don't you just stay and talk for a while?' It was apparent that it was the people on the ground who could best tell us how we could keep up long-term support with dignity.

Sharing time with junior high school children at Niitsuki Middle School in Kesennuma. SWTJ Kesennuma Branch Head Tamura teaches the children how to gain iron from iron ore in a crafted iron melting charcoal stove. The Niitsuki area at the border between Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures has traditionally been famous for its abundance of iron ore and for ancient melting techniques. 

Disaster victims are tired to be always on the receiving end after so many months. Yes, people need money. But we must think about dignity, and respect. Like us, these people not only need money, they also need dignity, and respect. 

An evacuation center in Shiogama, in April: people tire being always on the receiving end

The difficult step away from 'First Aid' towards 'Long-term Support.' That step may have been needed earlier than we all thought. It is a step away from delivering support goods, a step towards a different kind of support. So what is really needed?

Things that money cannot buy: memories, pictures, family, a time that does not come back

We decided to shift the center of programming for our activities to people who live in the disaster area. The SWTJ Kyoto office and members now work in cooperation with these offices on-site. We are extremely grateful to the branches in Rikuzen Takata and Kesennuma, in particular the Mori no Gakko Nature School in Tsukidate, for taking the lead in setting up programs for SWTJ that answer immediate needs in the disaster area. These leaders are people who themselves suffered in the disaster , they lost jobs, family, and friends, and can tell how activities will be received. SWTJ supports these people in taking the lead.

Research

Action

Monitoring

The SWTJ Spring Flower Project, supported by our on-site branches. A reason for looking forward to spring? 

During the last 9 months, we have encountered uncountable tragic stories, we shared tears or a smile, or at times, just silence. We will continue to build trust in the region, through our members on-site, and through our activities, which we see as a collaboration. Unless we continue to knock on people's emotional doors so that tragic stories and anxieties can be shared, unless we continue to knock on the door of temporary housing units and continue activities in an effort to build mutual trust, we cannot hope to welcome spring next year together. A long, cold, solitary winter is approaching.
We must keep in mind that there are things necessary that cannot be bought with money, but that need time, determination, and conviction:


'Building trust', 'Spending time together,' 'Being there.'

Sky and Ocean in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture

The Bakery 'Partir' in Minami-Soma is one of the only bakeries in this town around 30km from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear reactors that kept going after the disaster. During the most critical time, the baker kept distributing bread to the needy and to evacuation centers on foot, for weeks, day and night. SWTJ assisted musicians during a November live concert for evacuees and residents in the town who gathered to honor the work of the bakery. 

Dream&Hope : Live Concert in Minami-Soma by the group ARISA

At the border of the 20 km no-entry zone around the Fukushima nuclear reactors (Minami-Soma, 14 November 2011 )

Official signboard: "Keep Out"

'Resoluteness'
(signboard set up by residents)

We can't leave

(at the 20 km no-entry border to the Fukushima nuclear site)

Yasuo Yoshikawa

SWTJ ON THE GROUND ACTIVITY REPORT OCT/NOV 2011

SWTJ on the ground in the disaster zone of the March 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami:  

Activity Report October/November 2011

More than eight months have gone by since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit the eastern and northeastern coast of Japan.

What is the current state in the disaster zone, and how does SWTJ respond and adapt to changing needs?

By the end of August, most evacuees were able to move into temporary housing sites after spending several months in crowded community centers and schools. 

Toilet units that were used in evacuation centers from March until late August wait for a new location on a field (October 22, between Kesennuma and Rikuzen-Takata) (Photo: B.Y.)


While the temporary housing sites provide some very welcome privacy and infrastructure, there are now many new problems and needs. 

Here are some of the needs that need an urgent response:

1. The environment around the sites must be improved before the winter. 
-----Sites must be protected against rain, wind, and snow; gutters need to be dug around sites; the atmosphere needs to be improved by planting flowers, setting up benches etc.

2. The end of community life in evacuation centers means that evacuees now must cope on their own. While they have the right to stay in the temporary housing for free for two years, they must now pay for electricity, gas, daily supplies, food, and other necessities. Many people are in financial distress.  
 -----Jobs need to be created in the local fishery, agriculture, business, and tourism sector. 

3.  Hundreds of people have died as a consequence of physical causes indirectly triggered by the disaster such as long-term fatigue, and worsening of chronic diseases under the stress of living as evacuees. In Miyagi Prefecture alone, 654 applications were made by the end of October to seek recognition of death as resulting from the March 11 disaster (The Daily Yomiuri Nov 19, 2011, p.3).

 -----A lifeline (a place where distressed disaster victims can get help) is essential. While each town in the disaster area tries to correspond to needs, the paperwork for applying for governmental support such as 'kaigo' (care for the elderly) is often so overwhelming and troublesome that many citizens refrain from applying. The support of private organizations and volunteers is indispensable. 

4. Communities formed in evacuation centers are now broken up. People from the same village may now be spread over several temporary housing sites. Such sites are often on high ground in the middle of nowhere, without any shops or other facilities nearby. Many evacuees find it hard to start a new social network with their new neighbors. Post-traumatic stress symptoms have started to show among many evacuees. Such symptoms include feelings of loneliness and helplessness, alcohol dependence, and depression.
-----New social networks and opportunities for making a new start as a member in a changed community need to be created.

Temporary housing site on a hill on the Karakuwa Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture (October 24). The tank at left serves as a water purification container for sewage from the site (Photo: B.Y.)

November storms and snow will arrive soon. Some evacuees make improvements to their housing such as setting up a roof over the entrance as in this picture (October 24). While the administration has promised to improve the sites to prepare for the winter, residents are anxious that it will be too late (Photo B.Y.)

Fishers working on the top of a hill are an unfamiliar sight. Most evacuees living in temporary housing on this hill on Karakuwa Peninsula are from fishing communities, or they used to work in oyster or seaweed farms. In this picture, wakame seaweed farmers prepare ropes to be used in the wakame farms they are determined to rebuild. More than half of the population of Kesennuma had jobs related to fishery and marine farming. For these people, it is extremely hard to find a job in another field. The local fishery industry will take a long time to recover, but these people are moving ahead in their own small way  (Photo: Y.Y.)

Destroyed freezer facility in Kesennuma (Oct 20). Kesennuma's fishery industry will not recover as long as seafood refrigerating facilities are not renovated (Photo: B.Y.)

 

How SWTJ responds on the ground:

--SWTJ supports communities at temporary housing sites by creating community spaces that allow residents to network with others in the vicinity of their new home. Such spaces help evacuees overcome isolation and loneliness, and rebuild their social networks (see "Tsukidate community space" below).

--SWTJ conducts flower planting projects. We set up flower beds or planters together with evacuees. Such projects encourage evacuees to come out of their rooms and to share their concerns and thoughts. Caring for the planters until the flowers will bloom in spring will also give evacuees, especially the elderly who tend to stay inside, a reason to come outside (see “Tohoku Spring Flower Project” below).

--SWTJ organizes community events and meals to provide opportunities for evacuees to mingle and share. Whenever possible, we add a cultural element to the event such as music. Events were conducted in October and November at Yasse temporary housing, at Isaribi Park temporary housing, and at Rikuzen-Takata temporary housing. Furthermore, SWTJ assisted a charity concert event in Minami-Soma in Fukushima Prefecture on November 12.

--SWTJ connects with on-site volunteers who continue SWTJ's work when Kyoto members are not on the ground. 

--SWTJ cooperates with other volunteer organizations who welcome our help (such as in the case of the Minami-Soma event).

--SWTJ helps fostering interest in travel, eco-tourism and cultural tourism in the region by introducing the wider public to places where the region can be experienced through our website, through exhibitions, and through our presence in public events.

--SWTJ takes part in local activities and cultural events to establish contacts for future activities, to build trust in the local communities, and to show our gratitude for the cooperation of the local SWTJ offices (in October and November: Kesennuma Tsukidate District Annual Relay Event; soba-noodle making event at Yasse Mori no Gakko; English workshop for middle school students at Niitsuki Middle School; Shishiori Gakudo after-school care participation). 

 SWTJ takes part in the Kesennuma Tsukidate District Annual Relay Event (Nov 6) (Photo: Y.Y.)

 SWTJ Kesennuma Office Head Yoshida at the Mori no Gakko soba buckwheat noodle making event (Oct 23) (Photo: Y.Y.)

 

SWTJ joins other volunteers at the gakudo (after-school child care) at Shishiori Elementary School which is close to the coast. Until very recently, the school served as an evacuation center for disaster victims. Many children who frequent this center after school have lost family members or friends in the disaster  (Photo: Y.Y.)

SWTJ English workshop for middle school students at Niitsuki Middle School (Oct 21) (Photo: courtesy Niitsuki Middle School). These are the kids that will rebuild Kesennuma in the near future.

Where SWTJ works:

More than 400,000 people have been dislocated due to the March 11 triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. 

A small organization such as SWTJ can not reach all disaster victims. 

Instead, SWTJ works by establishing relationships with local people in the disaster area who help us connect with communities that welcome help.

We then focus on supporting these particular communities over the long term. Locals who work with us or volunteers we meet in the region then introduce us to other communities that are interested in our work.In that way, we have little by little expanded the extent of our activities.

Our main local contacts are in Kesennuma (Miyagi Prefecture) and Rikuzen-Takata (Iwate Prefecture) where we established SWTJ branches.

Furthermore, we have also established contacts in Minami-Sanriku and on Oshima Island off Kesennuma (both in Miyagi Prefecture), and most recently in Minami-Soma in Fukushima Prefecture. 

Kesennuma, seen from the top of Oshima Island (Oct 20). During several days after the disaster, Kesennuma Bay and Oshima Island were engulfed in flames after oil tanks at the coast had taken fire after being tossed about by the tsunami. Most homes along the coast were either swept away by the tsunami, or burnt (Photo B.Y.)

Tree close to the top of Oshima Island: Today, it is hard to believe that the whole island was engulfed in flames (Oct 20) (Photo B.Y.)

Garbage still lines many roads (Karakuwa Peninsula,Oct 24). Gradually, garbage is separated and recycled (Photo: B.Y.)

Still much to do: garbage on a roadside close to Rikuzen Takata (Oct 22)

 Garbage recycling plant in Rikuzen-Takata (Oct 22) (Photo: B.Y.)

SWTJ Kyoto meets  Mr. Kanazawa (left), head of the SWTJ Rikuzen-Takata Branch Office, to discuss November flower planting and other activities (at the Rikuzen-Takata temporary housing site, October 22) (Photo: courtesy Sano)

SWTJ Rikuzen-Takata member Yuichiro Murakami (left) with SWTJ representative Yasuo Yoshikawa, October 22 (Photo: B.Y.)

 SWTJ Kyoto (left) meets Mr. Yoshida, the manager of an izakaya-style restaurant in the vicinity of Isaribi Park temporary housing, to discuss flower planting and an evening community event at the site (Oct 24) (Photo B.Y.)

SWTJ supports community space project at Kyu Tsukidate Elementary School temporary housing site in Yasse, Kesennuma:

The school yard of former Tsukidate Elementary School in Yasse, Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, has become the site of  temporary housing for tsunami survivors from the coast

 The Yasse temporary housing site (Oct 25) (Photo B.Y.)

At left, the former Tsukidate Elementary School. At right, the newly built temporary housing (Oct 23) (Photo Y.Y.)




SWTJ cleaned up and restored this former storage that now serves as a community space at the Yasse temporary housing site (Oct 25). In October, we added side wall sheeting to protect the space against wind and rain (Photo: B.Y.)

The community space has become a place for gatherings where evacuees, locals, and volunteers can meet, share a meal or a drink, and build up new networks.

Evacuees, local farmers, SWTJ members, and other volunteers gather at the community space for a meal (Oct. 20) (Photo: B.Y.)

SWTJ Kesennuma Branch Head Taiji Tamura prepares imo-ni soup, a local specialty, for a community event with evacuees,  locals, and volunteers (Oct 22) at the community space renovated by SWTJ next to the Yasse temporary housing site (Photo: B.Y.)

SWTJ helped construct a bathing facility at the site. Firewood from the nearby forest is used to heat the water (Oct 25) (Photo: B.Y.)

Former Tsukidate Elementary School houses Mori no Gakko Forest Education School (Photo: B.Y. Oct 25)

The Yasse Mori no Gakko, a local Forest Education School in Yasse, Kesennuma, was founded in 2006 (Heisei 18) in this former elementary school after a new school had been built for local students. In 2007, the building, built in 1922 (Taisho 11) was designated as a cultural property. It is the oldest wooden school building preserved in Japan. 


Mori no Gakko organizes nature and local culture, agriculture, and history education events for children, and  community events for families and others. 
Since the disaster, the school's members have offered the school ground as a camp site where disaster relief volunteers working at the coast could put up their tents during their stay. Later, it was decided that the yard would also be used for temporary housing. By August, the Yasse temporary housing on the school's yard was completed.  

Mori no Gakko members have continued to support the evacuee and volunteer community since the very day of the disaster.

Yasse Mori no Gakko opens the school to the local community and other interested groups for various events. Here, home-made soba buckwheat noodles are served, and local produce and crafts are sold.

SWTJ Kesennuma Office Manager Katsuhiko Yoshida makes soba buckwheat dough at Yasse Mori no Gakko. This is slow food: buckwheat is cultivated, harvested, processed, and prepared on site (Oct 23) (Photo: Y.Y.)

Locals and SWTJ volunteers join forces in the kitchen of Yasse Mori no Gakko to make the soba event a success (Oct 23) (Photo: Y.Y.)

The Yasse Mori no Gakko site has much potential as a cultural and educational community center in the disaster zone.

It helps rebuild destroyed communities and networks through educational and community events, supports evacuees and other disaster victims, and provides this region whose satoumi or coast was totally destroyed with new energy from the satoyama hillsides.

SWTJ will continue to support this space together with our local branch office. 

 

 The SWTJ Tohoku Spring Flower Project

SWTJ made an appeal on October 25^th to collect flower bulbs for SWTJ’s Tohoku Spring Flower Project to be conducted in the first days of November. Within only a week, a large number of people sent us spring flower bulbs or donated money into the SWTJ account to buy planters, materials, and soil. 

SWTJ would like to thank the many sponsors of the flower project for their great response and help!

Flower bulbs collected from many generous donors (Photo: B.Y.)

SWTJ bought materials and soil locally to support local business (Nov 7) (Photo: Y.Y.)

Together with evacuees at temporary housing sites, SWTJ set up flower beds and planters, and organized small community events after planting. The project was enthusiastically received. 

Preparing the soil (Nov 8)(Photo: Y.Y.)

Preparations for a big planter

 A long-term local volunteer takes part in SWTJ's work on the ground (Photo: Y.Y.)

Preparing the flower beds

Planting the bulbs together with evacuees (Photo: Y.Y.)

Successfully planted! Large wooden planter at one of the temporary housing sites (Photo: Y.Y.)

Taking a break: evacuees who helped SWTJ with the project (Photo: Y.Y.)

Part of the bulbs was planted in individual planters so that each household could have their own (Photo: Y.Y.)

Evacuees carry planters to temporary housing (Photo: Y.Y.)

 Planting directly into the ground

Sharing a sausage snack after work




Now everyone is looking forward to spring to see the bulbs grow and bloom! 

THANK YOU again to everyone who participated! 

Text: Beatrix Yoshikawa, SWTJ Kyoto
Photos: Beatrix Yoshikawa (B.Y.) / Yasuo Yoshikawa (Y.Y.)